Well-drilling apparatus



Jan. 12 1926.

1,569,183 c. H. HERMAN ET AL WELL DRILLING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 7 1924"Zine s a";

Patented Jan. 12, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. HERMAN AND FRANK G. SCHROER, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI; SAIDFRANK G. SCHBOER ASSIGNOR TO SAID CHARLES H. HERMAN.

wnLt-nn ume APPARATUS.

Application filed January 7,

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that we, CHARLES H. HERMAN and FRANK G. SCHROER, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson andState of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful. Improvements inVVell-Drilling Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

()ur invention relates to apparatus for drilling wells and while it maybe employed to advantage in drillin different kinds of wells it isespecially eiiicient in drilling deep wells, such as oil or artesianwells.

Important features reside in a hammer for striking blows to force thedrill bit through hard pan and rock encountered when drilling the well,and in hydraulic mechanism for lifting said hammer preparatory to itsdelivering each blow, said mechanism being actuated at little additionalcost by the same water which is forced into the well to flush out thesediment caused by drilling with a rotary drill.

Other features will hereinafter appear, and in order that the inventionmay be fully understood, reference will now be had to the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

Fig. l is a vertical section partly in elevation showing the mechanismconstituting the resent invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged broken section on line IIII of Fig. 1. V

Fig. 3 is a cross section on line --III-III of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged broken section on line IV-IV of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a cross section on line V'V of Fig. 4.

Referring now to the different parts, 2 designates'a tube closed at isupper end by a plug 4 connected to ip'es 6 and 6*, the former of whichexten s above the top of the well. The pipe 6 extends upwardly into thepipe 6 to form a trap 6 for catching coarse sediment carried in by thewater which is forced to the bottom of the well to flush out theborings.

8 designates a cylinder secured within the tube-2 and connected at itsup er end to a pipe 10 secured at its upper en to the plug 4 andcommunicating with the pipe 6".

-12 designates a hollow piston reciprocably arranged within the cylinder8 and having its interior divided into two chambers 14, and 16 by anoblique partition 18. The pis- 1924. Serial No. 684,770.

ton chamber 14 has upper and lower ports tact the cylinder heads 30 and32, respec'- tively. 1

The piston 12 is provided at its upper side with a tubular stem 44 whichcommunicates with the piston chamber 14 and extends upwardly into thepipe 10 throu h a stuffing box 46 carried by the c lind er head 30. Thepiston 12 is provide at its lower side with a tubular stem 48 whichcommunicates with the piston chamber 16 and extends therein through astufiing box 50 on the lower cylinder head 32.

The lower end of the piston stem 48 terminates inv the bore 52 of a head54 provided at its upper portion with a stufling b0x'56 through whichsaid stem 48 extends. The head 54 has a reduced portion 58 of angularcross section loosely embraced by a nut 60 threaded into the lower endof the tube 2 and cored out to loosely fit the angular ortion 58 of saidhead 54 for the purpose 0 rotating the same and a drill bit 62, as willhereinafter appear. For convenience in placin the nut 60 around thereduced portion 58 o the head 54, said nut is made in two parts 61, asshown more clearly by Fig. 5. The reduced portion 58 is longer than thenut 60, so that the head 54 may move up and down to a limited extentindependently of said nut 60, for a purpose which will hereinafterappear.

The bit 62 has ducts'64 extending from end to end and comunicating withthe bore 52 of the head 54. Packin 65 is interposed between the head 54and t e nut 60 to prevent water and debris from entering the lower'endof the tube 2.

66 design ranged within the tube 2 and rovided with a central bore 68through wh ch the piston stem 48 freely extends. The upper end ofmounted intermediate their ends on pivots 74 carried by arms 76projecting from a collar 7 8 secured to the piston stem 48 by suitablemeans such as a set screw 80. The lower ends of the hooks 72 arenormally forced apart toengage the internal flange 70 of the hammer 66by springs 82 secured 'to said hooks 72 and bearing against theintervening piston stem 48. The lower ends of the hooks 72 are beveledas indicated at 84, so

that when they descend and contact the beveled upper surface 71 of theflange 70 they will be guided inwardly thereby until they pass beneathsaid flange 70, whereupon they will be forced under the same by thesprings 82.

In practice the bit 62 and the tube 2 with the mechanism assembled inthe latter is lowered and rotated by the pipe 6. As the drillingoperation proceeds, the weight of 4 the apparatus resting on the lowershoulder 86 of the head 54 aids the bit 62 in its boring operation. Thebit 62 supports the head 54 with its shoulder,- 88 spaced above the nut.60, so that the impact of the hammer 66 against said head 54 will betransmitted to said bit 62 instead of to the remainder of the apparatus.Assuming that the hammer 66 is resting upon the head 54, 39 theoperation is as follows: Water forced through the pipe 6 from the top ofthe wellto clear the bottom of the latter of dbris caused by the boringoperation, flows through the pipe 6, the upper piston stem 44, thepiston chamber 14 and into the upper portion of the cylinder 8 throughthe port 20. The pressure of the water upon the piston 12 forces thesame downwardly, during which operation the water below said piston 12escapes from the cylinder 8 through the port 36, the piston chamber 16,the lower piston stem 48, the bore 52 in the head 54, and the ducts 64in the bit 62. The downward stroke of the piston 12'carries the hooks 72below the flange 70 and causes the springs 28 and 42 to contact thecylinder head 32 and be compressed sufliciently to "shift the valves 24and 38 upwardly until they close the ports 20 and 36, said valves 24 and38 being held in raised position by the pressure of the water in thechambers 14 and 16, respectively. The water then passes through thechamber 14 and the port 22 and forces the piston 12 on its upwardstroke, the water escaping from the upper portion of the cylinder 8 tothe piston stem 48 through the port 34 and the piston chamber 16. As thepiston 12 travels upwardly it carries the ooks 72, which, having engagedthe under side of the flange 70, lift the hammer I 66 until the upperends of said hooks 72 are spread a art by the conical end 90 of '1 thestufling x 50, whereupon said hooks 66 72 release the hammer 66 whichdescends piston 1 ates and cooperates therewith in shifting by the forceof gravity and delivers a blow u on the head 54, the resultant impactaiding the bit 62 in its boring operation. The piston 12 continues onits downward stroke until the springs 26 and 40 are compressed 1 againstthe cylinder head 30, whereupon they restore the valves 24 and 38,respectively, to their initial position so that the water may again flowthrough the port 20 and force the piston 12 on another downward stroke.The foregoing operations are repeated as long as desired.

At times it is desirable to stop the operation of the hammer 66 and yetpermit the water to flow to the bottom of the well to clear the debristherefrom. This is accomplished by raising the tube 2 until the nut 60engages the shoulder 88. Raising of the tube 2 also lifts the cylinder 8and the hooks 72, so that when the same are carried downward by thepiston 12 they will not descend far enough to engage and lift the hammer66, which is permitted to remain idle on the head 54 until the tube 2 isagain lowered to carry the nut 60 down upon the shoulder 86, which issupported bylfhe bit 62 resting on the bottom of the we The tube 2 notonly holds the difierent parts in proper relation to each other, butprevents dbris from lodging on said parts and interfering with theirproper operation, especially the hooks 72, the hammer 66 and the head54.

As shown by Fig. 4 the drill bit 62 is removable from the head 54, itbeing screwed therein so that different bits may be used as -required,according to the formation of the rock or soil through which the well isbeing drilled.

From the foregoing description it is ap- 1 parent that we have providedan apparatus embodying the advantages above pointed out, and while wehave shown and described the preferred construction, combination andarrangement of parts we reserve the right to make such changesas'properly fall within the spirit and scope of the invention asclaimed.

Having thus described our invention, what we.claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is: X

' 1; In a drilling apparatus a hammer,

means for engaging said hammer to raise the same, a hollow reciprocatorypiston for actuating said means, a partition dividing the interior ofsaid piston into chambers having ports, valves for controlling saidports, a cylinder in which the piston oper- 12 said valves to effectalternate closing of the ports, means forv effecting the release of hehammer so that th same may deliver a blow to force the drill bitdownwardly, and a tubular piston stem coinmunic tins:-

with one of t' e piston chambers and exspring-pressed means, and anelement for 10 tending through one end of the cylinder and disengagingsaid spring-pressed means a bore in the hammer. from the hammer so thatthe same may 2. In a drilling apparatus a head qarrydeliver a blow tothe head. ing a drill bit, a hammer associated with In testimony whereofwe aflix our sigsaid head and provided with a flange, natures.spring-pressed means for vengaging said flan e and raising said hammer,hydraulic CHARLES H. HERMAN. mec anism for raising and lowering saidFRANK G. SCHROER.

